Drying apparatus



0. MULLER! DRYING APPARATU$.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.25| I920.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

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O. MULLER.

DRYING'APPARA'TUS. APPLICATION FILED AUG.2S, 1920.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921'.

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UNlTED STATES OSKAR written, or s'rr rrean'r, GERMANY.

DRYING APPARATUS.

Application filed August 25, 1920.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, OSKAR Mi'umnn, a citizen of the German Empire, residing at Stuttgart, 'Wurttemberg, Germany, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Drying Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drying apparatus of the type in which trucks are used which are placed in channels. Plants of this type are rather expensive owing to the channels; they use much space and require complicated mechanisms for the movement of the trucks.

This invention has for its purpose to obviate these inconveniences in a simple manner through utilizing the trucks for formin g the channels, each truck being constructed so that it forms a part of the channel. Every truck is divided into compartments by partitions so that several trucks together form a drying channel which is composed of several superposed channels.

In plants of this type the material upon the first truck, which is in closest proximity with the blower, is dried the quickest so that the first truck has to be removed, the other trucks being moved up for a corresponding distance. As the first truck is in close contact with the blower chamber it is clamped in between the wall of this chamber and the following trucks so that all the trucks have to be pushed back to make room for the removal of the head truck.

This inconvenience is obviated according to this invention by using a special connecting truck which connects the line of trucks with the blowing chamber and can be moved toward said chamber to make room for the head truck so that it can be removed without diiiiculty.

After the head truck has been removed the remaining trucks are moved up and the connection with the blower chamber is reestablished through pulling the connecting The compartments of the connecting truck are made extensible so that it is not necessary to interrupt the connection with the blower chamher.

A further condition for a profitable working of the drying plant is that the air which comes from the last drying truck does not escape into the room in which the drying apparatus is mounted, as otherwise the moisture with which the air .is saturated Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4:, 1921.

Serial no. 406,030.

would condense in said room and produce the formation of mold, fungi and the like. It is difiicult to conduct theair directly into the atmosphere as the length of the drying plant varies with the number of trucks so that the distance between the end of the row of trucks and the air outlet varies also. The drying begins in such a plant as soon as a truck has been filled and is never interrupted whether two, three, ten or twenty trucks are connected.

To avoid these inconveniences an improved conduit for the used air is provided according to this invention which adapts itself to the varying length of the drying channel composed of trucks. With this object in view the end truck is made without compartments and closed at the rear, all the trucks having a separate compartment designed to serve as conduit for the used air. In this manner the used air is brought back to the blower chamber to be conducted from there either to an outlet communicating with the outer air or to the blower in which latter case a continuous circulation of the air would be obtained.

The invention further comprises an improved construction of the hurdle, the easing which incloses the same having at the lower part of the front wall an air inlet and at the upper part of the rear wall an air outlet, so that the inflowing air is distributed over the hurdle traversing the material to be dried uniformly e. g. from below upward. The side walls of the casing protrude some what over the rear wall whereby a space is formed which conducts the air coming from one hurdle to the succeeding hurdle.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is shown by way of example in several forms of construction.

Figure l is a side elevation of an improved drying apparatus.

Fig. 2 shows on a larger scale in side elevation and section the blower chamber and the connecting truck.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section of a drying truck.

Fig. & shows in longitudinal section a second form of construction of the drying apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical longitudinal section of an improved hurdle.

Fig. 6 illustrates, in side elevation, partly in section, the manner in which the hurdles are mounted in the trucks.

The drying apparatus consists of trucks 1 mounted on wheels 2 and divided into compartments by cross partitions 3, said compartments forming continuous drying channels when several trucks are placed one behind the other. In order to insure an airtight closing the trucks 1 and the partitions 3 have felt covers 4 at the front ends.

The hot air is supplied from a blower 5 mounted in a chamber 6, the air being conducted to the blower by an inlet pipe 7. The outlet of the blower 5 communicates with the several (three in the form of construction shown) horizontal compartments of the trucks.

According to this invention a connecting truck 8 is inserted between the first truck 1 and the chamber 6 of the blower 5, said connecting truck 8 being adapted to be pushed into said chamber, an extensible connecting pipe 9 connecting the compartments of the connecting truck with the blower.

When the head truck 1 (Fig. 1) has to be removed from the drying plant, the connecting truck 8 is pushed into the chamber 6 to make room for the said truck 1. After the head truck 1 has been removed the other trucks are advanced and the connecting truck 8, after having been pulled out of the chamber 6, is connected with the new head truck 1 so that the drying operation can continue. a

As shown in Fig. 1 at the end of the row of trucks 1 an end truck 10 is placed which consists of a box open at the front end, each truck 1 has besides the three horizontal compartments for drying material, an upper horizontal compartment 11, these compartments of all trucks together forming a channel designed for the return of the hot air, which comes out of the drying apparatus. This end truck is of the same height as the trucks but has no horizontal partitions so that the air which flows out of the horizontal compartments collects and mounts in this end truck 10 to flow through the upper channel 11 of the trucks into an upper chamber 12 of the chamber 6 of the blower from where it escapes either through the outlet 13 or is conducted back to the blower 5 through a conduit 14, to be used again.

Figs. 5 and 6 represent a special form of construction of the hurdles. The hurdle proper 16 is mounted in a casing 15 and has at the lower part of its front end an inlet 17 for the hot air. Upon the lower surface of the hurdle 16 short baffle plates 18 are arranged which project downwardly and which are designed to conduct the air so that it traverses the hurdle 16 in vertical direction, to flow out from the casing 15 at the rear end through an air outlet 19 arranged under the top late. The casing 15 is closed on, all sides. uch air inlets and outlets are provided in any of the superposed hurdle casings as shown in Fig. 6. The hurdles may be arrangedin superimposed relation in the trucks, as in Fig. 6. In this use the end plates 21 of the hurdles are arranged in spaced relation, so that the hot air will flow from one hurdle to the next, and through each hurdle from the inlet 17 to the outlet 19.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. Drying apparatus in the form of a channel, said channel being formed by a number of trucks which are in contact with each other comprising in combination with a blower for the hot air, the trucks containing hurdles and horizontal partitions in said trucks dividing each truck into superposed compartments.

2. Drying apparatus comprising in combination with the blower for the hot air. a chamber in which said blower is mounted, trucks containing hurdles for the reception of the material to be dried, horizontal partitions dividing each truck into superposed compartments, a connecting truck inserted between the first truck and said blower chamber adapted to be pushed into said blower chamber, an extensible connecting piece for connecting said blower with said connecting truck, partitions in said connecting piece for dividing the same into as many compartments as there are compartments in said trucks.

3. Drying apparatus comprising in combination with the blower for the hot air, a chamber in which said blower is mounted, trucks containing hurdles for the reception of the material to be dried, horizontal partitions dividing each truck into superposed compartments, of which the upper one forms a return channel for the hot air, hurdles in said compartments with the exception of the upper return channel compartment, 2. connecting truck inserted between the first truck and said blower chamber adapted to be pushed into said blower chamber, an extensible connecting piece for connecting said blower with said connecting truck, partitions in said connecting piece for dividing the same into as many compartments as there are compartments in said trucks.

4. Drying apparatus comprising in combination with the blower for the hot air, a chamber in which said blower is mounted, trucks containing hurdles for the reception of the material to be dried, horizontal partitions dividing each truck into superposed compartments of which the upper one forms a return channel for the hot air, hurdles in said compartments with the exception of the upper return channel, a connecting truck inserted between the first truck and said blower chamber adapted to be pushed into said blower chamber, an extensible connecting piece for connecting said blower with said connecting truck, partitions in said connecting piece for dividing the same into as many compartments as there are compartments in said trucks, an end truck open at the front end and forming a connection between the rear ends of said hurdle compartments and said compartment serving as return channel, an upper compartment of said blower communicating with the said return channel for the air, and an air outlet in said blower compartment.

5. An improved hurdle for drying plants of the type described comprising in combination with the usual perforated hurdle plate, a casing closed on all sides and in which said perforated plate is mounted said casing having an air inlet at the lower part of the front wall and an air outlet at the upper part of the rear wall and projections at the rear ends of the side walls of said casing forming a passage through which the air is conducted to the next hurdle, substantially as described and shown and for the purpose set forth.

6. A drying apparatus including a source of air under pressure, a series of trucks together forming a plurality of separate chan nels open to said air under pressure, and a member connecting said trucks with said source of air under pressure, said member being movable to separate the same from the immediately adjacent truck. 7

7. A drylng apparatus comprising a series of trucks formed to together present a series of separate channels, a blower adapted to direct air through said channels, and a member intermediate the blower and first truck adapted for movement into a position to connect the trucks with the blower or into a position to free the first truck from connection with the blower.

8. A drying apparatus made up of a series of alined trucks, each divided into separate channels, the channels of all trucks being in registry when the trucks are in position, a blower casing in advance of the first truck, a blower therein and a member slidably connected to said casing and adapted to be moved to connect the casing and first truck or to free said truck from connection with the casing.

In testimony whereof I hereby afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OSKAR MULLER.

Witnesses:

W. W. SLIH, R. MEIssNnR. 

